Workgroup geodatabases included with ArcGIS Server for Amazon Web Services

The ArcGIS Server Amazon Machine Image (AMI) can be used with an ArcGIS for Server Workgroup license. To use this, you authorize your ArcGIS for Server instance with your workgroup license, then you can use the SQL Server Express instance that is included with the ArcGIS for Server AMI. This instance is authorized to store workgroup geodatabases and use with ArcGIS for Server Workgroup.

The SQL Server Express instance (database server) comes with two geodatabases already created: egdb and geodata. As with the enterprise instance, the egdb geodatabase is registered as a database connection that is different from the publisher database connection. When you publish feature or WFS-T services to a site that has a geodatabase registered in this way, the data is copied from your source to the registered geodatabase in the cloud. The geodata geodatabase is intended for use as a replicated geodatabase. You can register the geodata geodatabase as a database connection that is different from the publisher database connection and create a geodata service from it. Through the geodata service, you can synchronize data from your on-premises enterprise or workgroup geodatabase to the geodata geodatabase.

Considerations when using ArcGIS Server Workgroup geodatabases

• If you connect to the database server from ArcGIS for Desktop in the ArcGIS Server on Amazon Web Services instance, use localhost in place of the server name.
  Legacy:

  Prior to ArcGIS 10.1 SP1, use localhost\sqlexpress for the server name.

  In the cloud, you are not locked into one specific server; therefore, you cannot specify a server name to connect to the SQL Server Express instance. Using localhost ensures ArcGIS can find the SQL Server Express instance.

• If you want to publish from the ArcMap installation on your ArcGIS Server on Amazon Web Services instance, you must create database connection (.sde) files for each geodatabase you want to use for source data because you cannot publish an ArcGIS service from the Database Servers node (a .gdb file) in the Catalog tree. If the service you are publishing is going to contain data from a workgroup geodatabase, the service must point to a connection under the Database Connections node (.sde file). To create a connection under the Database Connections node, right-click the geodatabase under the database server in the Catalog tree and click Save Connection. This creates a .sde file in the default location: Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\ESRI\Desktop<#>\ArcCatalog. Place the file in a location that the ArcGIS user can access to publish an ArcGIS service using the data in the geodatabase.
• Workgroup geodatabases are limited to a size of 10 GB.
• Workgroup geodatabases use Windows authentication exclusively. Therefore, if you want to add more users to the database server, you must add users to the ArcGIS for Server instance, then add the new users to the database server and grant permissions. Local users must be placed in the Windows Remote Desktop Users group to be able to log in to the EC2 instance.
• If you create a new ArcGIS for Server Workgroup instance and want to move your existing geodatabases to it, you must first detach the geodatabases from the database server in your existing instance, move the .mdf file to the new instance, and attach the geodatabase to the new database server. See Moving workgroup geodatabases between ArcGIS Server on Amazon Web Services instance for instructions.

See the topics in the Administering geodatabases on database servers section of the ArcGIS Help if you want to customize or directly administer these types of geodatabases.